security

The FBI may have officially taken the necessary steps to drop its case against Apple, but the ongoing encryption battle is far from actually being over and put to bed. The United States Department of Justice jumped through all of the necessary hoops last week in order to prevent its ongoing encryption case against Apple from going to court. The decision was taken internally after the FBI found another method of unlocking the iPhone 5c used in the San Bernardino shootings, and therefore no longer required Apple's intervention. Now, several security experts have gone on record as stating that the method used by FBI for accessing the device is unlikely to stay secret for long.

The long-running Apple vs. the FBI encryption case may no longer be going to court, but that doesn't mean that the fallout and drama has come to an end. The government law enforcement agency may have officially announced that it will no longer pursue Apple through the legal system for the company's assistance in unlocking an iPhone 5c, but it's also now being reported that the FBI has agreed to assist in the unlocking of an iPhone and iPod involved in an ongoing homicide case in Arkansas.

The continually twisting and turning rollercoaster that is the Apple versus the FBI encryption case has taken yet another unexpected turn. In a surprising turn of events, the FBI has officially filed a motion as part of an attempt to vacate the scheduled court hearing that was all set to take place in a Californian court Tuesday. In the motion, the FBI claims to have found another way to gain access to the iPhone used in the San Bernardino shootings, and in turn, no longer requires the assistance of Apple to break encryption and provide a backdoor into the iOS platform.

Apple has released a new statement ahead of its March 22 court date. The newly released statement is the final scheduled brief by Apple before their court appearance later this month, which will see Tim Cook's company visit a federal court in California to determine whether or not the company is required to assist the FBI - as per a court order - with the ongoing investigations into the San Bernardino shooting incident which took place late last year.

A new DOJ filing is essentially threatening to force Apple to hand over its iOS source code and digital signature to the FBI, allowing the agency to create its own bespoke version of iOS.

As we could have probably predicted, things between Apple and the FBI are starting to turn a little sour as part of the run-up to the March 22 hearing. Prosecutors involved in the case have filed a third motion, that once again attempts to convince Apple to go through the necessary processes involved in breaking encryption on the iPhone that was used as part of last year's San Bernardino shooting in California. Apple, as you might expect, isn't exactly pleased with not only the recent motion, but also the wording and terminology used within that filing.